Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: Stein on April 12, 2019, 01:23:11 PM

Title: COAL question, how far off lands?
Post by: Stein on April 12, 2019, 01:23:11 PM: I'm loading 30-06 with 168 tsx and have a common problem of the box magazine being too short to fit longer cartridges. Using the Hornady gauge, the longest cartridge I can load and reliably feed is about .1435 off the lands. I know Barnes like to jump, they recommend starting at 0.050", but .1435" seems like a crater to leap.

That said, I can get .7ish groups and am just messing around with new charges and primers since I picked up the new chrono and can actually get reliable data now. I'm starting off at SD of 7.2 and ES of 17 before I start messing with different primers and trying new loads. I'm coming in at 2706 fps, so I think I should have plenty of room to the upside in load development.

I could go longer, but that would be single feed which would be very far from ideal in the field.

Anyone happen to have experience with TSX bullets and seating depth they could share? I'm almost afraid to load them up at the suggested length and find out they work much better.
Title: Re: COAL question, how far off lands?
Post by: Yondering on April 12, 2019, 01:30:14 PM: In my experience - if you're getting .7-ish moa groups and decent velocity with your current load, roll with it. Good functional accuracy in a rifle that feeds right is far more valuable for most practical uses than a little better accuracy and single feeding.

It's easy to get too wrapped up in details like distance to the lands, but those are not hard and fast rules and sometimes just don't apply.
Title: Re: COAL question, how far off lands?
Post by: BULLBLASTER on April 12, 2019, 01:34:37 PM: :yeah:

What gun are you working with? Another option could be replacing the magazine box.

But I’ll agree with yondering 3/4 moa is plenty fine.
Title: Re: COAL question, how far off lands?
Post by: Stein on April 12, 2019, 01:42:43 PM: It's a Remmy 700 with aftermarket bottom metal.

After I get the case/primer/charge all finalized, I may mess around to see what I can get.

I was amazed at the difference in both velocity and consistency between different brass manufacturers. I would not have believed it makes that much difference until I saw the data.
Title: Re: COAL question, how far off lands?
Post by: BULLBLASTER on April 12, 2019, 01:47:30 PM: What bottom metal do you have? And what is the max length it will take?
Title: Re: COAL question, how far off lands?
Post by: Karl Blanchard on April 12, 2019, 02:15:05 PM: Like others have stated, I wouldnt worry about jumping them and .7 is good enough accuracy to out shoot the effective range of that bullet. I'd run up my powder charge to milk some more velocity at that seating depth.
Title: Re: COAL question, how far off lands?
Post by: Stein on April 12, 2019, 02:29:24 PM: Quote from: BULLBLASTER on April 12, 2019, 01:47:30 PM
What bottom metal do you have? And what is the max length it will take?

I'm at max length with the numbers above. I have to load the mags carefully and make sure they are in there perfectly straight.

I am probably getting better than 0.7MOA out of the rifle, that's what I can shoot on an average day. I make a fair assumption that the trigger puller is the limiting factor. I have gotten 3 round groups in the .5 or slighly less, maybe a few in the .4 range. I haven't measured a group in the last few years, I just compare them to the 1" squares on the target and am happy when they look to be 1/2 to 2/3 the size of the square.

The chrono is a fun tool though, it gives unbiased data that has nothing to do with the shooter.
Title: Re: COAL question, how far off lands?
Post by: timberghost72 on April 12, 2019, 02:37:31 PM: I have the same gun Rem 700 BDL 30-06 and load the tsx's at .150 off the lands. It's a jump but seems to be the sweet spot. I've tried from .050 all the way to .170. I am using IMR 4350 for powder.
Title: Re: COAL question, how far off lands?
Post by: jasnt on April 12, 2019, 02:38:29 PM: I’ll start by saying I’ve never shot a Barnes bullet but I have jumped bullets as far as .185 with .5moa accuracy. Don’t be afraid of more jump. It might surprise you